Repeating device for gramophones



Sept. 23, 1941. J. ROUTIN REPEATING DEVICE FbR GRAMOPHONES Filed Feb. 1, 1940 Fig.2

Patented Sept. 23, 1941 2,256,579 I REPEATING DEVICE FUR GRAMOPHONES Joseph Louis Routin, Paris, France Application February 1, 1940, Serial No. 316,713 In France February 7, 1939 Claims.

This invention has for its object to provide a new device in gramophones which enables one to repeat at will any part of a sound record on I a record disc.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved device for use with reproducing apparatus which renders it possible to obtain the repetition of any desired part of a sound record and which device has the following advantageous features:

1. Without the necessity of making any preliminary adjustment, the device permits the playing of a new selected passage of a sound record to be commenced at the point where the playing of the previously studied passage of the sound record ended;

2. Without the necessity of changing its adjustment, the device enables one to find again automatically the sequence of a temporarily interrupted audition. It should be observed that this result is a very important one, particularly for lecturers and professors, because it enables them to give all explanations which are considered necessary after the audition ofv each selection.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically a plan view of an embodiment of the invention in the position corresponding to the audition.

Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically a section of Fig. 1 along the line III.

Fig. 3 shows diagrammatically a section of Fig. 1 along the line III-IV, and also a reproducer provided with an operating rod mounted according to the invention.

Fig. 4 shows diagrammatically a modification of the mounting of the operating rod on the reproducer.

Fig. 5 shows diagrammatically a section of Fig. 1 along the line V-VI.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3, wherein I denotes the driving spindle of a sound reproducing machine and 3 a part of a disc on which a record is engraved, .r-y and ew denote the arcs of circles of radii T1 and m respectively described by the point of the needle I29 and by the end of a transmission.

rod I38 which is fixed on the sound-box I3I; I32 denotes a metal lever or strip which is mounted on the spindle I through agency of an eccentric cylindrical core I43 which is rigidly secured, as by screws I44, to the adjusting milled knob I5 bearing a graduated dial I'I movable opposite an index line I8 on strip or lever I32; I33 denotes one of the sides of lever I32, which is so shaped that while the record is playing it can be practically superposed on an arc of circle r-s drawn con- 55 centrically with x-y with a radius between T1 and Ta; 534 denotes a metal plate which is fixed on I32 and one of the sides of which is cut out in saw tooth formation so as to form a number of angular grooves a, b, k; I35 denotes striations extending along each of the teeth of I34 in the direction shown in Fig. 1; I36 denotes an extension of the lever I32, the two sides of which are shaped in arcs of circles concentric with :cy; !3l denotes the handle which serves for operating the lever or strip; I33 denotes a metal part curved in the shape of an arc of a circle having its centre at I which is fixed on the upper wall L33 or the sound reproducing machine case and carries a guiding and supporting slideway having two resting steps; I40 denotes a screw which is fixed on I32; MI and I32 denote two abutments formed by the ends of a notch provided on the edge of the dial I7; I23 denotes a'metal projection covered with flexible leather which is secured to the underside of the lever I32 and the height of which is equal to that of the boss on I43 into which the spindle I penetrates. This boss and the projection I20 form with the support I38 for the outer end of the strip, a three-point support insuring the strip against tipping sidewise.

The distance between the peaks of two adjacent angular grooves a, b, etc. is slightly less that the longitudinal movement that can be imparted to the lever or strip I32 by rotating the knob I5; furthermore, as shown in Fig. 1, the peaks of the ends of all the grooves are arranged on an arc of a circle which is practically superposed on z-w when the lever is placed in the position which corresponds to playing.

The use of the improved device involves the following operations:

Before starting the motor, raise the end of the lever or strip,.then engage it in the slot I22 by pushing it, without forcing, until the side I33 encounters the needle-holder. The needle is thus moved away from the record and the end of the rod I33 is engaged in one of the grooves, either directly (in the case of a very short audition), or by the guiding action exerted by one of the striations I35 on the end of the rod I30.

In order to play the record, bring the outer end of the lever backwards, which has the effect of conveying the rod I30 to the peak of the end of one of the grooves, then gradually move the lever downwards to the bottom of the gate IEI, which has the effect of placing the needle in contact with the record. The lever is then located between the record and the rod I33 without touching either of them, as shown in Fig. 3.

In order to stop playing, raise the end of the lever again and engage same in the slot I22 by moving it to the right as previously described.

Playing will start again automatically in the same furrow or sound track of the record each time the previous audition has been short enough for the rod I30 to be re-engaged in the same groove of the strip I32 when playing is stopped.

However long the playing lasts, it is vmoreover always possible to obtain a repeat by taking care (after raising the end of the lever, but before engaging it in slot I22) to bring back, with the'left hand, the rod I30 opposite the groove which served to adjust the beginning of the previous audition.

To explain the function of the striations I35, it will be assumed that an audition, which started at the instant when the rod I30 was for example above the peak of the groove cl, is prolonged until said rod comes into the vicinity of the peak of the groove e without however reaching the end of the striation on the tooth which separates the groove dfrom the groove e. When the lever or strip is moved towards the right, the rod I30, guided by the striation, will be moved towards the periphery of the record, then re-engaged in the groove d; whereas, without the action of the striation, the rod I30 might have slid along the lever and have engagedin the groove e when 'the lever was raised and moved to the right.

The striations I35 therefore have the first effect, everything else being the same, of obtaining an increase in the maximum. duration of audition that is compatible with the automaticity of there-start in the same record furrow.

Thestriations I-35 furthermore enable theamplitude of the transverse movements that have to be imparted to the lever to be reduced, since when said striations are used, the movement towards the right itself contributes to retract the needle towards the periphery of the record.

It should furthermore be observed that the use of the striations is not absolutely necessary for carrying out the invention.

Without its being necessary to have recourse to any previous marking operation, the improved device directly enables the playing of a new passage of a record to be made to start where the playing of the previously studied passage ended. It suffices for this purpose to proceed as eX- plained hereinafter:

Stop the motor suddenly at the instant when the last word of the previously studied selection is heard; then,'with the right hand holding the lever about 1 mm.,below the end of the rod I30, rotate the knob I5 with the left hand, in the direction which will enable the peak of one of the two nearest furrows to be brought opposite the end of the rod I30; then raise the lever and push the same to the right; finally, after having started the motor again, replace the lever in the position shown in Fig. l.

It is obvious that by proceeding in this manner, the needle will be brought, at the beginning of the fresh audition, into the position in which it 'was at the end of the audition of the previously studied selection.

; Without being necessary to change its adjustment, the device enables one to find again automatically the sequence of a temporarily interrupted audition. It is suflicient to obtain this result to proceed as follows:

The end of the rod I30 in this case does not engage in the grooves, nor in the striations, that is to say, in this case only the smooth part of the lever is used. The interruption of the playing and its restarting are obtained, respectively, by raising the lever and by gradually lowering the same, care being taken never to impart to the lever any transverse displacement.

To insure that no part of the record is passed over, the lever must be pushed toward the cen ter before raising the same, and then drawn in the other direction before lowering the same. This double step results in moving back the needle slightly, 2. distance equal'to the slight play between the boss and the spindle I.

The abutments MI and I42 make the transverse component of the movements that can be imparted to the lever by rotating the knob I5 practically negligible; this limitation avoids any danger of the needles falling on to the record since the lever is always kept below the end of rod I30.

In Fig. 1, it should be observed that the position of the part I36 of the lever that engages in the guiding and supporting s'lideway I38 has been so calculated as to ensure the stable equilibrium of the lever and to prevent the possibility of its being overturned by the weight of the reproducer. It should furthermore be observed that the design of this part provides the most accurate guiding of the end of the lever.

It will be observed that any deterioration of the record is made impossible, since both when the needle is raised and when same is brought into contact with the record again, the point of the guide rod always rests on a smooth part of the lever.

The same lever may be used with gramophones in which the radius r1 has different values, conditional on the provision of means which enable the part I38 to be moved along the arc of circle 1-H and thus permit the position of I38 to be adjusted for each change of audition, so that the point of I30 passes through the peak of the furrow used.

'In addition, it is not'indispensable' to use the part I33 since the lever can be guided and supported by hand; and the improved lever maybe instantly used with any type'of gramophone by using the adaptingmember shown in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 4, I 43 denotes a very light small metal part which carries, on the one hand a fixing rod I44 that is mounted inthe needle-holder of the sound-box I3I, and on the other hand a transmission rod I45. The needle I29 is fixed on I 43 by tightening the screw I46. This embodiment offers the advantage of enabling a transmission rod to be readily secured on any type of reproducer. In the accompanying drawing there is illustrated the invention embodied in some of its principal commercial forms but as-this illustration is primarily for purposes of disclosure it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these particular forms of structure through to receive said spindle and a spiral sound track on the face thereof and supported on said table for rotation therewith, a reproducer carrying a needle for engagement with the sound track of the record, said reproducer and needle being mounted on said casing for horizontal movement on an arc across the face of the record and for vertical movement to lift the needle off the record, the combination of a lifting rod carried by the reproducer and having its free end movable on an arc of greater radius than the arcuate path of the needle and located some distance above the record, and a thin, narrow strip having a socket in one end thereof into which the spindle of the rotary table is adapted to extend and having its other end extending beyond the disc and providing a handle to be grasped by the operator, the margin of said strip toward the needle being disposed on an are generally concentric with the arc of movement of the needle but of a radius intermediate the length of the radii of the arcs through which the needle and the free end of the lifting rod, respectively, move, the strip having a plane top face along said arcuate margin and for some distance laterally thereof, a series of grooves having their bottoms depressed below the plane top face of the strip and each tapering to an apex toward said margin but terminating some distance short of said margin, the apices of said grooves being arranged on an are generally concentric to the arcuate margin, said grooves extending generally transversely of the strip and radially outwardly inclined toward said margin and a series of shallow striations in said top face between said grooves, each striation extending from a closed end adjacent the apex of a groove transversely on a radially outward inclination to its opposite end opening into the adjacent radially outer groove, the grooves and striations cooperating with the free end of the lifting rod, by proper manipulation of the handle end of the strip, to lift the needle off the record, move it back and lower it on the record, thereby permitting any desired part of the record to be repeated at will.

2. In a repeater device according to claim 1, in which the apices of the grooves and the closed ends of the striations are arranged substantially on an arc of slightly greater radius than the radius of the arc described by the free end of the lifting rod, and means guiding the handle end of the strip in its raising and lowering movements so as to maintain said end of the lifting rod resting on the plane top face of the strip in such movements, whereby n0 scratching of the record by the needle can result during the raising and lowering while the table and record are rotating.

3. In a repeater device according to claim 1, in which means are provided to guide the handle end of the strip during the raising and lowering movements of the strip so as to maintain the free end of the lifting rod resting on the plane top face of the strip in such movements, said guide means having provision to permit lateral swinging of said end of the strip when in its raised position with the needle off the record, such lateral movement bringing certain of the striations and grooves into cooperative relation with the end of the lifting rod to guide the needle to the starting position of the passage to be repeated.

4. In a repeater device according to claim 1, in which supporting and guiding means are provided for the handle end of the strip, and the end of said strip engaging the spindle is provided on its under face with a boss surrounding the spindle and a projection laterally thereof, said boss, projection and the supporting and guiding means providing a three-point support for the strip preventing transverse tilting of the strip under the weight of the reproducer and needle.

5. In a repeater device according to claim 1, in which means are associated with the socketed end of the strip for adjusting the distance of the grooves from the socket, said means comprising an eccentric mounted on the strip and so arranged with respect to the spindle and strip as to effect a minimum of lateral movement of the adjacent end of the strip during adjustment.

JOSEPH LOUIS ROUTIN. 

